Extreme Couponing

Consumer_Queen · **Posted:** 09 Apr 2011 21:39

Have you watched the Show Extreme Couponing? What do you think about the show? How does couponing fir in your life style? Post here.

mitchsurp · **Joined:** 14 Aug 2009 16:36 **Posts:** 1

I have not seen the show, but I've heard of it, and I don't see it ending well. I'm a cashier at Walgreens, and we've been very accepting of coupons until now.

Since the show aired, we're pulling in 3 times our normal coupon intake for the day, and we're coming up short by more and more amounts. On a normal Saturday night, for example, we can expect to pull in about $60 in coupons. The end of the day printout said we had collected $172. The kicker is that we only had $160 in redeemable coupons, meaning something happened to a mysterious $12 in coupons.

For reference, to be off (over or short) my any more than $1 is considered a bad night.

Just the other day a woman who had seen the show ("Oh, I'm going to save so much money!") failed to understand how Walgreens Register Rewards worked, and demanded to be able to use her $3 RR as credit toward the returned item she had gotten the RR for. (In simpler terms, she bought something for which there was a RR, wanted to return it, then re-buy it using the Register Reward.) This led to a line of customers, frustrated, and an irate couponer who was trying to cheat my cashier. Bad eggs ruin it for everyone.

More stores are taking notice, and I hope it dies down. I'm a coupon-friendly cashier, and I know you coupon queens know exactly what you're doing. Stacking coupons is completely acceptable according to Walgreens' Coupon policy, but this influx of new people trying to game the system improperly won't end well for anyone.

Did I hear a report that Food Lion was changing their policy to limit stacking? I hope it doesn't happen at Walgreens. If stores continue to see an influx of coupons (with past expiration dates, for larger amounts, stacking to pay $2 OOP with $15 in RR), they're going to start refusing coupons. It's at the discretion of the store or assistant manager to accept or refuse a coupon, so if your store starts seeing lots of the type of customer I mentioned above, it may be the end.

Complaining to corporate will do no good -- they'll tell you the manager was acting in the interest to protect the store from losses.

All we can hope for is for the show to get cancelled and the fad to fade.

ttamara · **Posted:** 10 Apr 2011 08:47

It really is putting us in a bad light. There is so much to learn about couponing properly and people see a show like this and think all they need to do is collect a pile of coupons, shop, hand in the coupons and all is well. The spectators in the store watching these extremists have no idea that fraud is being committed. The store won't be so friendly when they discover that they have a fraction of the redeemable coupons they thought they had.

Regarding Walgreens's, I always mention that I have alot of coupons and ask for another cashier to take me. That way, I don't hold up the line. 9 times out of 10 I end up at the cosmetics counter. The employees have always been friendly and understanding. There's no way I want to ruin that relationship so I try to do my homework before going to the store. With the abundance of sites like this on the net, there is no excuse for lack of preparation.

Having said that, I have made mistakes with Walgreen's RR's. Somehow I get the math wrong or forget a "filler" so the RR is not allowed. I find the cashiers very patient and friendly when this happens and they are more than happy to tell me what the mistake was and how I can fix it. I really don't want to lose that because someone tried to cheat the system.

I did find a couple of tips while watching the show.
1. If you know that you are going to be buying more than what the store holds, call and order your stock ahead of times.
2. When using freebie or B1G1 coupons, let the cashier know at the beginning of the transaction and do those items first to avoid confusion and to save time later.
3. Preparation is always a good thing. Do your homework so you are not caught off guard at the checkout. Knowing the store's coupon policy is always best and knowing how RR's, Catalina's, Extra Bucks, etc., work leaves little room for error while checking out.
4. You can never have too much toilet paper...LOL

Karen_Perea · **Posted:** 12 Apr 2011 12:56

With regards to "Extreme Couponing" I think that moderation is the key. Yes, I have had the chance, the coupons and enough OOP $ to wipe out the shelves but I did not do it because it would be rude and honestly I would rather get a few things at an excellent sale rather than ruin it for everyone. 3 years ago when my baby was born yes I did do the Walgreen's diaper deal then and I did purchase 60 packages of diapers; however, I did it over the course of a week AND I went to various stores in OKC, The Village, Edmond, Del City and Midwest City. I did not wipe out an entire stores inventory. Plus since we had to buy the diapers in sets of 4 it was only 15 transactions. I used every last one of those packs for my son and recently just bought 10 more packages on their most recent sale. That was 5 different transactions at different stores spread over the week. I will use each and every one of those diapers. So for items like diapers yes I see stockpiling those but for other items that routinely run on special I do not see the point in stockpiling soo much. (before anyone complains about 60 packages of diapers please know my husband was a self employed contractor so his income was sparse to say the least....he is now a stay at home father and has been for over a year. Without those diapers soo cheap there would have been times where we would not have had any diapers if I had not stockpiled them. I was preparing for the hard times ahead and I am glad I did!).

PrincessShouna · **Joined:** 12 Apr 2011 19:17 **Posts:** 6

I agree that moderation is the key. I have a small stockpile and am adding to it, but it is only items that I use regularly. It is frustrating to me to have all of my coupons ready and go to the store and there be nothing on the shelves. Last week I went to all 3 homeland stores and they were completely out of several things that I wanted. I just can't imaging having such a large stockpile and I was totally blown away by the woman who had insurance on her stockpile!!! Think she might have an addiction!

Princess Rachel · **Posted:** 27 Apr 2011 08:22

Wow insurance on a stock pile! That is taking it a little far.

Coupon Diva Lori · **Joined:** 20 Apr 2011 21:16 **Posts:** 7

Interesting topic, and lots of interesting post.
I have been an avid couponer for about 15 years, I have had my share of bargains, bummers, and "what was I thinking"; sometimes I would have it figured to the penny and other times, played it by ear, but to see some of the things the show has shown, makes me shake my head. One had the couponer stealing inserts from her neighbors, another putting her pregnant friend and small child in danger by "dumpster diving" for thrown away ads. That is not just obserb, but criminal. Shame on television for allowing them to be on the show. Couponers are not criminals, they are thrifty, families needing just a little bit more to stay a head of a ever pinching economy.
The show where the gentlemen donated to the military, the ones donating to church pantries, or to family crisis shelters, BRAVO. That is American helping Americans and deserves better than to be on a show with some that are less than ethical.

As far as these newbies to couponing? I think they will burn out and fade away sooner than the show. When they see that there is work to be done, and more work to be added to their everday busy life, they will run the short term gambit and then go back to saving their money another way, or not at all. I have had my times when it was to much work to coupon full force, where I would just cut the coupons we bought regularly and didnt bargain hunt, price check and compare; so I find it hard to believe these newbies to coupons will stay in it for the long haul in large numbers.

JMO

Karen_Perea · **Posted:** 23 May 2011 13:16

I agree some of the new couponers will probably fade away after the excitement wears downa dn they see what it involves; however, if they go to a CQ coupon class they can learn how to do it easier than they show on the television show.

ttamara · **Posted:** 09 Jun 2011 09:20

I had a customer at my register the other day. She did 2 separate transactions and had coupons for both. She was quite perplexed when she had to pay for the items. She thought that we doubled coupons and told me that she wanted to try out the Extreme Couponing on a small scale just to see what she could get for free.

I explained everything about the show to her and also mentioned that some stores in this area may double coupons but they severely limit the coupons and transactions. It wouldn't be the experience she see's on TV. So, I wrote down this website and a few others for her to view and learn how to coupon properly.

She's not the only person I've had to explain this to. A friend of mine was so excited to learn that Homeland doubles coupons but she didn't realize how expensive everything is normally and the limit of 1 transaction at the register. It was an Extreme Reality experience for both women lol

PrincessDorothy · **Posted:** 10 Jun 2011 11:51

I use to think Homeland was more expensive than other stores too-I prefer to shop at Crest actually. But I have found that with their sales and the larger $1 coupons it can actually be a better deal. I also use Homeland for things like Health and Beauty products as most people don't but this from grocery stores as much as they do WalMart or Target so Homeland frequently has these on items on clearance and I've been able to get makeup, deodorant and other products from really cheap to FREE! You just have to figure out a system that works for you.

Extreme Couponing

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